


Time After Time

by Syven



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-07 21:18:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11067327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syven/pseuds/Syven
Summary: An accident with Jane's Einstein-Rosen Bridge sends her back in time along Bucky's lifeline.  (Established relationship)





	1. Chapter 1

Jane looked up from where she perched on a ladder at the top of the Gate, her gaze finding Bucky where he lounged on the sofa at the other side of her lab. He had on the wireless headset so he could listen at any volume he wanted without disturbing her, and Jane could see he was watching a history show of some kind. 

He’d been living with her for six mostly blissful months. They seldom argued. Life was better than she’d ever imagined it could be and finally, she was putting the finishing touches on the Gate system. Next month, the first Gate she’d built would open a portal to Proxima Centauri b when it passed within range on its orbit. They would have a four month window in which to set up the second relay gate and a surrounding environmental shelter and then onto Kepler 438b. 

Around her wrist was a thick bracelet of appeared to be huge rubies, but was in fact hollow, synthetic diamonds that served as a home for the majority of the Aether. She’d made her peace with sharing her body with a small portion of the sentient ancient being and it was aware of her mortal frailty now. It no longer drew energy from her life, but from the latent energy in the air around them. She had a sense that the Aether had done something more - to her to be able to change that frailty, but frankly, Jane was afraid to clarify that so she left it be. As long as she felt like herself, she was content with the Bond as long as it didn’t hurt him.

Her new assistant had input the data for the initial start up sequence yesterday and Jane wanted to see the power up sequence to ensure a successful launch. It was the same thing she’d done for the first Gate and there was absolutely nothing that had changed so she climbed down the ladder and set it to the side before going to the console. Tapping her password in quickly, she pulled up the starting sequence program and put it into test only mode, watching the lights as they began flickering across the relays of the Gate. Picking up her control tablet, Jane walked slowly around the Gate, checking each relay and making an adjustment here and there to the sensor output emitters. The Gate powered up perfectly, as the first one had, and she stopped in front of it, tapping through the separate controls. 

Outside, the summer monsoon season was in full swing, but the hurricane shutters had been closed earlier in the day and neither Jane nor Bucky were concerned, half the island didn’t even bother shutting down anymore. Jane was deeply engrossed in reading the output data from the Gate when a jolt of lightening hit the roof, surging directly down into the Gate and the portal opened in front of her, the drag of intense gravity pulling her towards it as she screamed for James. She caught the stabilizing pole and held on for dear life, her legs off the ground already and Jane could see James whipping off the headset and vaulting over the back of the sofa in one motion, racing towards her, but her fingers were slowly sliding off the pole as he clamped his metal hand around it, grabbing her hand as her fingers came free and for a moment, Jane felt a surge of relief. He had her.

But the pull was too great and the pain shooting from her wrist was insane. Jane knew it was only a matter of seconds before her hand would rip from her wrist and Jane was terrified that he would die with her. She mouthed ‘I love you’ before letting go of his hand, the horror and fear reflecting in his expression as the portal swallowed her. Just before her hand passed the Gate, she hit it out, striking the Alpha relay to shut it down, but it was too late for her. Jane was certain she was dead. The atmosphere on Proxima Centauri b was toxic without an environment suit. She felt a tug in the pit of her stomach and then she was falling a foot to a hard surface.

Almost immediately, Jane realized two things. One. She wasn’t on Proxima Centauri b. Two. She wasn’t in Hawaii. The air was cooler and she heard many voices. Rolling to her feet, she saw that she was behind a tent.

 _What happened?_ she asked the Aether

_Causality loop._

_A loop to where?_

_When. Paradoxical causality loop._

_I’m fucking time traveling?_

_Time does not exist in a straight line…_

_I meant I’m not in my present, right? How do I get back? Can you do that?_

_I can not. To do so would violate your first command._

_Protect Bucky? How would me getting back to him violate that?_

_Interrupting a paradoxical causality loop before the conclusion would rewrite your reality._

_And that would harm him?_

_Your champion would no longer exist._

A spike of terror chased through her heart. _Okay, we’re not doing that. What can I do?_

_Wait._

_For how long?_

_The when you would understand is incalculable._

_That’s just fucking great. So, until then, I what? Hide? Can I affect anything?_

_I will prevent you from creating a paradox in keeping with your first command._

_Great._

Dusting herself off, Jane hugged her arms around her. The t-shirt, jeans and sneakers she was wearing were just enough to keep her from being overly cold and she edged around the tent to see two figures talking, one man dressed in an old Army uniform, the other, shorter man a few feet from the first. She was only 5 feet from the shorter man when the other came forward to hug the short man and Jane stifled a gasp. James! The shorter man spoke and Jane recognized his voice - it was Steve! She wanted to go to him, but held back, not knowing what to say. 

_Hi, I’m your fiance in the future?_ Jane thought bitterly as the banter between the two men continued and she watched, seeing the same ease between them and marveling at it. Steve was saying goodbye and James was turning to leave and Jane ducked back around the tent, breathing hard. God, he looked so good in that uniform, clean cut and devilishly charming. When she heard nothing, she looked out and Steve was gone, but James was only a few feet away, walking towards a crowd and she hurried after him. 

_Can I talk to him?_

_You cannot reveal his future._

_I won’t._

In her thought ‘talk’ with the Aether, Jane hadn’t realized that James had stopped in front of her and she barreled right into him, almost falling, but he had turned quickly and caught her with a charming smile. “Careful there, Angel,” he told her, his Brooklyn accent so much deeper and Jane smiled back. His gaze raked down her body and back up again, a frown creasing his forehead. “Aren’t you cold? Here,” Bucky asked her, already unbuttoning in his Army jacket and before she knew it, he was putting it over her shoulders.

His scent rose up and hot tears pricked her eyes. “Th… thank you,” she told him, clutching the jacket closer as he stepped closer. “Don’t you need this?”

“Nah, I’ve got more,” Bucky shot back cheerfully, rocking back on his heels with a devil-may-care grin. “So what’s a beautiful dame like you doing here? Are you in town for the World’s Fair?” he asked, gesturing to the lighted platform in the distance. 

“Yes, yes. I am. I left my jacket back at the hotel,” she told him, taking his offered arm. He was walking them towards the Fair and the Aether wasn’t stopping her so Jane just enjoyed seeing him like this. So confident, so charming. 

“So where’ya from?” he asked cheekily, looking down at her. Those blue eyes were twinkling with interest. 

_Oh babe._ she thought sadly, though Jane forced a smile as she answered. “Montana. Are you shipping out soon?”

“In the morning. Montana, huh? I’m Bucky Barnes, sweetheart, and I’d like to buy you a coffee,” Bucky told her.

Jane’s smile widened. God, he had game, this one. “I’m Jane… Selvik,” she told him, using her friend’s surname when a surge of the Aether warned her. “And that would be lovely, thank you.”

“I’ll be right back, don’t go anywhere without me, gorgeous,” Bucky told her, giving her elbow a small squeeze and Jane’s heart was racing as he disappeared into the crowd. A moment later, she felt an odd tug in her stomach and, clutching his Army jacket, Jane felt the world swallow her up.


	2. Time After Time: Second Jump

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane is dropped into WWII Germany

She didn’t fall this time, stumbling onto cold ground outside a large concrete bunker. The air was frigid and Jane was grateful for Bucky’s jacket, slipping her arms into the jacket. It was huge on her, but she fastened the buttons and folded the ends of the sleeves into her hands as she looked around. It was nighttime and there was a moving spotlight behind her. She could see a perimeter fence and there were corner towers. Some kind of encampment. Tanks and jeeps were parked all around her and Jane could see a cargo truck next to the bunker door. 

The sound of the German language got louder and Jane pressed herself back into the shadows, holding her breath as two Nazi soldiers with guns walked past. The first time, she’d arrived close to Bucky, but now she was clearly in a German Army encampment. The uniforms, the vehicles, all screamed World War II. Was Bucky here?

_The champion is close,_ the Aether whispered

_I’m anchored to his timeline, aren’t I?_

_Yes, companion._

_Because he was touching me before I went through?_

_The imprint is on the cellular level._

Was his Army unit going to attack this compound? Or was he inside? Jane wished she knew more about when she was, but the fact was, she was in the center of the complex and she had a choice. Try to slip out of the compound into deeper snow and the forest beyond, or see if he was inside the bunker. A quick realization was that she wouldn’t survive long in the forest, not dressed how she was. She was going to have to seek out warmer clothes. Jane found a door and slipped inside, holding the door as it closed to keep it from slamming. She wasn’t a spy, just a frightened scientist who happened to be fluent in German. 

Lighting was low inside and Jane could see a small reception area, empty for the time being. It was night, they might just have guards awake, if she was lucky. Jane wasn’t holding out hope for luck. She pulled her hair from the back of Bucky’s jacket and arranged it as much as she could without a mirror before stepping out into the pool of light, walking slowly through the halls, checking into empty rooms and after the second closet, she came upon uniform lockers. Locking the door, she pulled on some small sized black cargo style pants and found a pair of boots that fit her. Jane was completely unwilling to wear any clothes with the swastika on it, so she kept her t-shirt and, of course, Bucky’s jacket. Taking a folding pocket knife, Jane put it in her pocket and slipped out the door. 

She found a clipboard in one of the offices and held it to her chest, hoping to blend in and when she turned the corner to find two soldiers walking towards her, Jane nodded to them, greeting them softly in German and they replied in kind, continuing on their way. She resisted the urge to panic though she’d covered the top floor without finding Bucky. Jane went down a set of metal stairs and it was then that she saw the medical boards hanging outside individual rooms. She checked each until she found his name, peeking into the small door window to see him laying on a medical bed.

Jane’s heart leapt when she closed the door behind her, taking in Bucky, he looked weak and disoriented, his uniform torn and bloody, his hands and face dirty and cut up. She went to him, slipping her hand in his and reaching out to touch his cheek with the other. “James,” Jane whispered urgently. “James, can you hear me?”

“Who’s there?” he mumbled thickly, and Jane could hear the effect of drugs in his system. His eyes blinked open and she could see he was having a hard time focusing. “Angel? No, no, you can’t be here. They’ll…” She could see he was malnourished, his cheeks lean and gaunt. Jane glanced around, leaving him for a moment to rifle through the desk that occupied one corner. On top, she could see several folders but one had his name on it and she opened it, quickly rifling through the pages. Her blood chilled. They were experimenting on him. _Experimenting._ She felt sick to her stomach. Serum. This was where he’d gotten it. They had given him and others different versions of the serum and were seeing what he could withstand. The other ‘patients’ had not survived. 

Jane found a roll of bread and a glass which she filled with water before bringing them over to the table. Sliding her arm under his shoulders, she managed to sit him up enough to let him sip at the water, then she broke off pieces of the bread, feeding them to him slowly. She could feel the bones of his shoulder blades against his arm and Jane didn’t think she could possibly hate another person as much as she did the people who were doing this to him. “Slowly, slowly, or you’ll make yourself sick,” Jane whispered, ripping off another piece of bread and he took it from her.

“You’re an ally nurse? I shoulda known. Ta hell with coffee, can I get a dance, angel?” he murmured weakly, his words slurring. They’d pumped him up with heavy sedatives, but she’d shut off the IV feed and had changed out the bag for saline before coming back to him. He would die of dehydration if she didn’t get more water in him. Jesus. 

Outside there was a loud banging noise and Jane tensed as the thundering of boots rattled down the hallway outside the room. They were under attack. Of course. Steve had rescued the surviving 107th and Bucky from behind enemy lines. Jane suddenly had a timeframe. Pressing a kiss to his forehead, she felt a surge of happiness. Not affecting his timeline had been easy in NYC. Now it was completely different. The noises outside were getting closer and wiping a tear from her cheek, she pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “Don’t you dare give up on me, Bucky Barnes. You owe me a dance.”

“Not. Not gonna… angel,” he whispered, his eyes fluttering closed as she eased him back down and checked the saline bag again. Jane had never noticed how long his eyelashes were until just then. 

_You cannot remain,_ the Aether warned.

With a soft touch to his cheek, she put the glass back and stole another kiss before slipping out of the room. Someone was coming down the hall loudly and there were shouts and the sound of gunfire and Jane let herself into a utility closet, keeping the door open just enough to see a thin strip of the hallway. Moments later, Steve came running down the hallway, looking more or less how she remembered him and then another long, long minute passed and he burst out of the room with Bucky under his arm. The saline must have helped, he looked more coherent. 

Her relief was short lived. A bullet pierced the door just inches from her head and Jane ducked to the side, her heart thundering as a tickle started in her belly. Oh God, not again, she thought as the world went dark once more.


	3. Time After Time: Third Jump

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding Bucky after the fall is worse than Jane could have imagined.

She stepped out of the darkness into snow. Knee deep snow. Thankful for the boots and thicker pants, Jane still hugged Bucky’s jacket closer, keeping her hands tucked into the sleeves and she’d turned the collar up around her neck. God, it smelled like him and Jane leaned against a tree, just breathing in his scent for a long moment, finding stability in it. She knew she’d get back to him, but finding him out here was both a blessing and a curse. Jane hated seeing what he’d gone through, though she’d known he was strong, both in body and in mind. Worse, she had a fear of seeing him now. 

When had she arrived? Was he still Bucky or was he the Winter Soldier?

If he was the Winter Soldier, Jane knew he wouldn’t recognize her and she had a reasonable trust - and a very strong faith that the Aether wouldn’t let him hurt her - that he wouldn’t try to hurt her as long as she didn’t interfere with his mission, but seeing him like that, without his mind, without his personality - she dreaded it. To know what a vibrant, intelligent man he was now, it would be hard to see him without that depth. 

Overhead, she heard the echoing sounds of a train and a sense of dread washed over her. Jane looked around quickly, peering through the shadows of the forest. She could hear a brook bubbling nearby. The cold, bitter wind whipped her hair wildly and Jane used the trees to block some of it, heading toward the sound of the train, her movements slow in the deep snow and cold. She knew she didn’t _have_ to see him. The Loop was anchored to him, but she was just along for the ride. 

_Incorrect,_ the Aether whispered

_If I can’t affect the timeline, then I can just wait out every loop._

_Incorrect. You must recreate the target aspect of the loop to proceed._

_Target aspect of the loop… I have to touch him? Every time?_

_Correct. Your champion is close._

_Fine. Fine._ Jane thought back morosely. 

It had been hard to see him on the hospital bed, but now, the dread she felt rose like bile in her throat. She wasn’t a medical doctor and her stomach clenched at the knowledge that she was going to find him, hopefully before HYDRA did. Worse, she couldn’t save him from them. She had to _let them take him_. 

A low groan came from her right and Jane stumbled in the snow, falling to one knee. She pulled herself up, shivering, to begin pushing through the snow towards the sound. 

Around a large tree, Jane found him. He was sprawled in the snow, what remained of his arm bloody and ragged. She wanted to be sick. This was cruelty on a cosmic level. Falling to her knees beside his head, Jane lifted his head onto her knees, getting it off the snow, brushing his short hair back gently. “You’re not alone, James.”

“An...gel?” he whispered thickly, his tone soft and distant. He was so close to death, it physically hurt her heart, but she knew he had survived it. She was a bystander here. It didn’t make any of it any easier. 

“I’m here. I’m right here and help...“ the word stuck in her throat. Help. It was HYDRA coming and only the knowledge that they would save his life made her continue. “Help is coming.”

“Can’t… hold…” his whisper was so soft, she barely heard it above the howling of the wind.

Jane pressed her hand to his throat, feeling his incredibly weak pulse. “You do NOT have permission to die, Sergeant Barnes. You are mine, dammit, and you WILL hold on, do you hear me?” she demanded angrily, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Answer me, soldier!”

“Yes… ma’....am,” he replied after a long moment.

A shout came from behind her and Jane knew she should move, but she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t leave him now. The Aether lays silent. More shouts, closer now and Jane stiffened at the press of a cold circle between her shoulder blades. Slowly, she lifted her hands, her heart thundering. 

“This man needs medical help,” she stated firmly in flawless German.

“Who are you, woman?”

“I got lost in the storm and found him. He has lost a lot of blood,” Jane lied with little conviction, her words came out stuttered from the cold, her lips trembling and turning blue. 

“She is from the village. Bring her,” came a stronger voice from behind her and she was hauled to her feet away from Bucky. Four soldiers came forward and slung their rifles over their shoulders before moving Bucky to a carrying cot. Another hard stab of metal at her back and Jane moved forward, going slow in the deeper snow near the water. After what seemed like too long, she saw an ambulance truck on the edge of a roadway, but the man behind her grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop, pushing her then towards the river bank. 

“I’m afraid our orders were clear. No witnesses, woman.”

Jane turned, unafraid, her chin lifting in defiance, out of the corner of her eye, she could see them loading Bucky into the back of the truck. He would live. That’s what mattered now. He would live and eventually he would find her and he’d be happy again. “We are all stardust, soldier. Everything around you - stardust. The very air you breath is witness to your crimes,” she told him, her eyes flashing with fierce anger. 

She heard the gun cocking and Jane did not look away, standing tall, her hands clenched in fists at her side when the tug grabbed her by the middle and jerked her into a well of darkness.


	4. Time After Time: Fourth Jump

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane meets the Winter Soldier for the first time.

Jane rolled onto the ground, thankful that it was warm and dry, looking up to see tall trees around her. Getting to her feet, she looked around cautiously this time. She had no illusion as to which Bucky she would find this time and the idea of having to get close enough to touch him was in the back of her mind. 

_I will prevent damage_ the Aether whispered.

_I know, but don’t hurt him please. He may not be the champion you and I know._

_The champion is the champion. All lies within._

Jane knew perfectly well that Bucky retained the Winter Soldier, but did the Winter Soldier retain Bucky? She supposed she was going to find out. 

A shot rang out and Jane ducked instinctively, focusing on where the sound had come from to the North of where she had landed. Though the sound echoed in her ears, she realized it hadn’t been that loud, so it had come from further away than she’d originally guessed. 

It was warm enough that she could unbutton Bucky’s jacket and she did, also slipping the folding knife from her pants pocket into the jacket pocket instead, keeping her hand on it. She strained to hear anything, but all she heard was the sound of birds high above. Where was he? Was he alone? She didn’t know what would be worse, honestly. 

Peeking around the edge of the tree, Jane’s breath caught in her throat. He was 100 or more feet away, moving through the forest as silent as a ghost, a rifle slung over his shoulder. His hair was already longer, but not quite as long as she knew. He was dressed in black, with the sleeve cut off for his metal arm. There was a red star on it. If she had dreaded the last jump, this one was infinitely worse. _How in the hell am I supposed to make physical contact with him?_

_All lies within,_ the Aether answered.

_That’s not helpful._

_The champion is the champion._

_Still not helpful._

Okay, the Aether wouldn’t let him hurt her, Jane reviewed what she knew, trying to keep a solid lid on her growing fear. Bucky was incredibly strong, fast, and agile. That was with his sense of self. Without it? Without any primal fear response? Without basic human empathy? 

_The champion is the champion._

_You can say that all you want, it’s still not helpful,_ Jane shot back in her thoughts.

The sound of a twig breaking very close had Jane holding her breath as he walked literally two feet away from her as he passed the tree and she froze. Any thought about trying to touch him had evaporated in that moment and she held her breath as long as she could, hoping that he wouldn’t hear. He was a good 15 feet away when she took a breath and he spun around in a half crouch, his blue gaze locking onto her instantly. 

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end when he straightened and began walking towards her, his hand resting on the grip of a pistol strapped to his thigh. Jane's heart was racing wildly. There was no hint of him in his gaze, but what would he do? She wasn't a threat. Jesus, she _was_ , but there was no reflect in her body that would hurt him, she knew. Think, Jane, think. The red book. The red book. What had it said? Oh!

“Soldier,” she said in Russian, using the inflections she’d picked up from hearing him speak.

He stopped two feet from her, looking down into her gaze, his head tilting to the side. His gaze narrowed and a shiver chased down her spine. “Handler?” he asked, his tone different, almost monotone.

“Not exactly,” Jane replied, licking her lips. His gaze followed any movement she made, and it fell to her lips, lingering there.

His head straightened and he reached out then, his fingers whispered along her jaw. He arched an eyebrow. “This is a test?”

Jane cleared her throat, giving her head a small shake and he drew his hand back. “No test.”

_Okay, he touched me. Can we jump yet?_

_That is not within my control,_ the Aether replied.

The Winter Soldier took a step closer and Jane took one back, her back hitting the tree trunk behind her. He stopped, a small frown creasing his forehead. “You were sent to me?” he said and this time, Jane simply arched an eyebrow. Now, what the hell did that mean? 

“Technically, that’s correct,” Jane answered, slowly feeling more confused than frightened, though that changed in the next moment when he reached out and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her close, her heart hammering in her chest. 

“I... know you. Have you been sent before?” he asked, the look in his eye shifting the smallest bit and Jane had a suspicion that there might possibly be a wrong answer to that question.

“That is also correct, technically,” she answered, thinking of the causality loop. Jane gasped at the firm press of his lips on hers, freezing in shock for a heartbeat before she responded. It was Bucky. His scent was surrounding her and she couldn’t stop herself, returning his kiss. His tongue slid across her lips and she parted them to him, his tongue delving inside with a hunger that sent chills down her spine. The hunger she recognized. Every once in awhile, Bucky engaged her in rough, hungry sex and she was very familiar with this kiss, a soft whimper escaping her lips as he deepened the kiss even further.

Her hand rose to his hair and he flinched at first, but she combed her fingers into his hair, massaging gently and his kiss softened the smallest bit, a low growl rumbling up from his throat as he drew back. His pupils were dilated and Jane knew what he wanted. _The champion is the champion._ Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. She’d never denied him. Never. Not even when he came to her while she was working. Jane loved Bucky. She couldn’t get enough of him, not even after six months. But this… this was different. 

_All lies within,_ the Aether whispered.

_Yes, but he doesn’t know me. He doesn’t love me. Not yet._

_Your physical form is responding on a cellular level to your champion._

“James,” she whispered and his gaze sharpened instantly. Jesus. Did he know his own name or was he reacting to her saying it? Jane couldn’t tell and he hadn’t released his hold on her, his hand rising to push her jacket off her shoulders. 

She stood perfectly still as his fingers traced a line along her neck then downward, along her shoulder and back to the hollow of her throat where he could easily feel the wild racing of her heartbeat. 

“You are frightened. Of me,” he told her, releasing her arm finally and he took a step back. Jane could see the tension in his jaw. 

Instinctively, she wanted to reassure him, but she stopped herself. This was not her James. He was in there, though, she was certain of it. Her lips throbbed from his kiss. God, she missed him. Her James must think her dead. The pang of sadness that hit her was stronger than she’d been prepared for and she took a step towards the Winter Soldier when the tug tickled in her belly, feeling his hand taking hers as the darkness welled up and swallowed her.


	5. Time After Time: Fifth Jump (NSFW)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane's second meeting with the Winter Soldier with unexpected results.

She came out of the darkness to a closet. An ammunition locker, to be exact, once she called the Aether forward to shed a red light upon everything until she found a flashlight. Jane heard sounds outside. Russian. _Great_. She looked around the locker, searching for something to cover Bucky’s Army jacket with and she found several black jackets big enough to go over his. It was silly wanted to keep it, but she didn’t want to leave it behind. Jane had no frame of reference for how long this Loop would last. It was only a theory before she’d gone through the Gate. She could be gone for days, weeks, maybe even years. That thought made her stomach clench uncomfortably. So far, she’d been moving along Bucky’s time line in a fairly consistent pattern, but that couldn’t be taken for fact. 

All Jane knew was that, right now, she was clearly in some kind of military base. The air was cooler than normal. Russia wasn’t what you would call a balmy area of the world, but it was a bit cooler than that - perhaps in the north. Not that it mattered. All she had to was find him, make physical contact and then hide to wait it out with the hope that the next jump wouldn’t leave her trapped again. _Yeah, that’s all I have to do._

There was a minor commotion outside the door and Jane cracked it the smallest bit, peeking out with one eye to see two large soldiers dragging Bucky between them. His head lolled and he was naked from the waist up. It was clear he was disoriented and the soldiers appeared to be moving as quickly as they could with him hanging between them. 

“Quickly. Get him in the chair,” came a man’s voice from the room at the end of the hall. Moscow Russian she could tell by his accenting. 

Chair? There were theories in how they’d actually wiped his memories without damaging his skills, the scope of his abilities. The term muscle memory was disingenuous. Muscle fiber didn’t retain memory, only the brain could. The level of skill Bucky retained, it would have been counterproductive to their needs to have to retrain him every time he was brought out of stasis, but the best neurosurgeon in Wakanda hadn’t been able to discover how they’d managed to target his personal memories all that the same time. It was possible that knowing could help them recover his missing memories.

“I told you, I don’t know. An angel. She was an angel and then she disappeared in front of my eyes,” Bucky’s voice, confused and soft echoed down the hall and Jane’s eyes widened. He was talking about her. Oh my god. He remembered her from the forest. _Oh God, her Bucky._

She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth, stifling a half-sob. It took her a few minutes to collect herself, but she _needed_ to get closer. She _needed_ to know what they were doing to him. This could be her only chance and if there was a way to ease his nightmares, she had to take the risk. Jane made sure his Army jacket was covered by the black one and pulled her hair into a ponytail. Grabbing a pistol, she checked to see if it was loaded, then strapped it on like Natasha had taught her. Be normal. Blend in. Walk, don’t run. The hall was silent when she pushed the door open, slipping out to walk as normally as she could to the end of the hall. 

There was a guard on one side of the door who glanced at her before returning his attention to the center of the room where Bucky was being strapped down to a chair. There was a monitor on a swivel stand and two metal beams coming out from behind the chair, ending in several flat panels. A man in a lab coat pushed a mouth guard into Bucky’s mouth and she could see the way he was looking at them with smoldering determination. The chair clanked and he was drawn backward while the metal beams moved downward, the panels folding down over his head and Jane could see that they were positioned very precisely. 

Why was he just letting them? She knew his strength. He could have gotten free, overpowered them. Oh god, of course. The trigger words. They’d broken him down over the course of two or three years. The most common forms of mind control centered around sensory deprivation and torture in a reward scenario. The doctors in Wakanda had warned Jane about the possible things that could trigger Bucky before they’d left for Hawaii.

“Begin,” said the man at the back of the room. The lab coated men keyed something into the keyboard and there was a hum of surging energy and then Bucky was screaming, his body arching against the restraints. The sound made her ill and Jane put out a hand to the wall to steady herself. 

Next to her the other guard chuckled, telling her in Russian. “You get used to it. He is strong like bull. If he trains you, do not let your guard down. He put two trainees in coffins last month.”

Jane nodded weakly, but couldn’t speak. She didn’t dare open her mouth or she’d be sick right there. The other guard looked at his watch. “It is time for patrol. Go and check in with Dimtri. Vanya will be done here soon.”

_Vanya._ Oh god, that was one of the names in the Red Book. He was talking about Bucky. 

She turned down the hallway, Bucky’s screams echoing off the walls and she ducked into a utility closet, throwing up in the work sink there. Jane didn’t know how long she stood there clutching the sink edge while his screams continued, but she couldn’t move until they stopped suddenly. She was shaking and heaving until nothing remained in her stomach. With a trembling hand, she rinsed her mouth before going to the door. Slipping out and moving quietly closer, Jane kept out of sightline of the other guard. 

Bucky’s voice came, monotone and dull. “Ready to comply.”

“This is your mission, Soldier. And no witnesses this time. Is that understood?”

“I will comply,” he answered coldly, and Jane turned then, walking away as quickly as she dared. If he recognized her, he’d try to kill her. 

There was a fire exit map on the wall and Jane looked for the quickest exit, climbing up through four levels of metal stairs until she found herself in a darkened room with several pods lining the circular wall. Only one rested in the middle and it was open, empty. Bucky’s. _Bucky’s!_ Her heart racing, Jane quickly crossed to the open pod and leaned over the pedestal to peer inside. 

There on the floor was a strand of dark hair and she picked it up carefully. _Oh James. I miss you. Hang on, baby. I’m coming home._

Quickly wrapping it around her finger, she moved back to the wall and the shadows there. The room was eerily quiet and sinister. The seven pods along the wall had occupants and in stasis, but Jane felt like there were eyes watching her as she cautiously edged along the outer wall, searching for a door. DNA contact accomplished. Now she had to find a place to hide until the Loop pulled her into whatever new hell was waiting for her.

The sound of approaching soldiers had her flattening herself against a steel beam. They were laughing about something and they made their way across the room without pause, going to a door that opened to the outside. 

While she waited, her thoughts replayed hearing that flat, passionless tone in his voice. Seeing the smoldering determination gone from his gaze. _They electrocuted his brain._ All those times he’d woken from nightmares, telling her over and over that he was a monster, Jane had simply held him and hushed away those horrible thoughts. 

She’d seen the monster now. That was a genie you couldn’t put back in the bottle. 

Outside, the air was considerably colder and Jane hunched against the wind as she went to a nearby jeep-like vehicle. The keys were in the ignition and she climbed inside, pulling the door closed, grateful to be out of the biting wind. Starting it up, it sputtered to life and she steered around the front of the building, heading South. As she drove, Jane glanced to either side, looking for something, anything that hinted at a road away from the area but there was nothing except ice mountains as far as she could see. 

So she had nowhere to go. Maybe she could park behind one of the snow dunes until the Loop initiated. Just as she neared what looked to be a snow dune, Jane saw a trail leading South. The hours passed with just the crunching sound of ice under wheel to occupy her thoughts. Why she hadn’t jumped was a mystery. The previous Jumps had occurred quickly, but the sun was setting on the horizon when she caught sight of a cabin half buried in the snow off the trail. Jane was cold, tired and hungry.

Pulling the jeep into a cusp of trees, Jane approached the cabin with her pistol out, but it was abandoned. There was wood piled out back against the wall and she set to work building a fire in the hearth. Exhausted by the time the fire got started, she collapsed on the old cot in the corner.

Drawing her hands up into the jacket sleeves with the pistol in one hand, Jane watched the fire thinking of Bucky, her Bucky, of _this_ Bucky and his fiery kiss. Her thoughts were disjointed from lack of rest. She hadn’t had a break since being pulled into the portal and there was no way to tell how much time had passed. Her stomach rumbled in protest, but she slipped into a restless sleep 

She woke with a beam of sunlight on her face, sleepily wondering why the bed was so hard and what the hell was in her hand, when Jane realized she wasn’t at home nor was she alone. In front of the blazing hearth, the Winter Soldier stood like a silent statue and the memories of the Jumps came rushing back. Her fingers tightened on the pistol momentarily before she realized both how futile that would be and how much she didn’t need it regardless of how badly her heart was hammering away in her chest right then. 

How had he found her? Why hadn’t he tried to kill her? Why was she still here, dammit?

“You were in the bunker,” he stated, his tone low and dark.

Her thoughts were racing at a hundred miles an hour and his statement bounced her thoughts into an entirely different direction. How could he possibly know that? She’d been out of his line of sight. “How… how did you know?” she asked softly, cautiously.

“My scent. You. On you. Why?”

_Oh. my. god._ Jane’s gaze dropped to where his hand rested on the butt of his pistol. A hundred answers danced in her mind, but she answered simply. “I’m wearing your jacket.”

He gestured with his metal hand. “Show me. Slowly.”

She frowned, licking her lips and catching her bottom lip between her teeth for a long moment before pushing herself up. Unbuttoning the outer black jacket, Jane shrugged it off with one hand, leaving the pistol in the sleeve as she slipped it off to reveal his khaki brown Army jacket beneath.

“Remove it,” he ordered firmly.

“No.”

He drew his pistol so quickly, it had been in the holster one moment and pointing at her in the next.

“You gave it to me. I’m not going to freeze to death to satisfy your curiosity, James,” she told him, her voice unsteady.

The pistol lowered a fraction and then rose again. He was frowning but the hard look remained. “Who is James?”

_’Oh baby. Please, please don’t make me hurt you,’_ Jane begged silently. 

His head tilted and his gaze was on her as he took a step forward, then another.

_Others without,_ the Aether whispered as Bucky turned his back to her, aiming his pistol above and squeezing off a shot, then his free hand came back as if keeping her behind him as he fired another shot through the wall by the door. 

The door flew from open and the Aether surged forward, making her dizzy for a moment as it surrounded them both. She didn’t see the grenade land, but in the next second, Bucky was grabbing her and ducking down, covering her with his body. The Aether shielded them from the blast and he was up again moving with inhuman speed, firing out the door as he advanced on it.

At door, Jane felt the Aether retreating back to her and willed it to shield him instead. A thin glow of red surrounded him as he rolled out the door, pulling something from under the back of his tunic and throwing it. A loud blast rattled the old cabin walls a moment later.

Jane grabbed the other jacket, pulling it on quickly and retrieving the pistol from the sleeve, holding it down and away from her body, but her finger was on the trigger now. She went to the doorway, listening, straining to hear anything. She felt a spike of fear when two more shots rang out then nothing. 

Silence.

She didn’t hear the soldier who came through the back door until he was on her, knocking the pistol from her hand and backhanding her to the floor. A boot slammed down onto her throat and Jane struggled, trying to call out for Bucky, but his name was only a whisper as she labored for breath, gasping and clawing at the boot. _Aether!_ she thought frantically but there was only silence. Jane’s hands slowed in her struggles and then fell away as she lost consciousness. 

Awareness came back slowly, through a thick haze of warmth and the sensation of pressure on her wrist. Jane blinked as she came around, seeing the stones of the hearth and then a shadow above her and her arms came up, as if to deflect a blow. The shadow moved and in another blink, her focus sharpened to see the Winter Soldier sitting on the floor beside her, holding his head in his hands. 

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the body of the soldier who had attacked her and she heard the whisper of the Aether in her thoughts again. Her right cheek was on fire from where the soldier had backhanded her and Jane wondered if she had broken bones.

_No,_ the Aether whispered. _You erred in commanding his protection, host._

Slowly sitting up, the dizzy spinning of her head eased and Jane took in the Winter Soldier. He was unhurt. _I didn’t err anything._

“What are you?” his deep, husky voice cut through the silence.

_Good question,_ Jane thought before answering. “I’m an astrophysicist. I study the stars.”

“But... I know you.”

“You do.”

“Something shielded me. That was you.”

“Yes and no.”

“Why?

“You protected me first.”

“Stay.”

“I can’t control that. Something happened to me. I’m just trying to get home. I’ll… I’ll stay until I can’t.”

He looked up then, his blue gaze sharp and intent, holding hers for a moment before he was moving, cat-like grace and strength, standing and advancing towards her. There was a flash in his eyes, seconds before he pulled her to her feet, his lips crashed down onto her, his hand cupping the back of her head and her bicep. 

The kiss wasn’t safe, it wasn’t chaste, and it wasn’t ceasing, the depth and strength made her head spin and her fingers curled around one of the straps of his chest piece, a low moan escaping her lips. His fingers were tangling in her hair, tightening almost painfully into the long strands and she gasped as he pushed her against the wall, the kiss never fully breaking. She didn’t feel her fingers undoing the straps on his tunic, pulling it open to press her hands against the skin of his chest. His natural hand pushed under her jackets, finding her skin. 

Fumbling, frantic fingers. Unclasping, unzipping, unveiling. 

Jane only kept enough sense about her to make sure her pants were still hanging off one foot as he hoisted her up and pressed inside her. His thrusts were hard, desperate, and fast and she clung to him, her breathless moans cut short only by his hungry kisses. His thick groan rumbled into a growled word - _Mine_ \- as she crested hard, her nails clawing at the back of his neck. She was still _there_ when he followed, stuttered, deep thrusts slowing to an eventual stop. His warm breath puffed against the hollow of her throat.

“Don’t tell them. About me. They’ll hurt you,” she whispered, stroking his hair, trying to collect herself. After a long moment, he nodded. “You have to put me down, baby.”

“Don’t… go.”

He set her down though and they pulled their clothes back together his intense gaze following her every movement. Returning to him, she plucked at the straps of his tunic for a moment before speaking. “You did what you were supposed to do?”

The Winter Soldier nodded. 

“They will expect you to return.”

“Won’t. Stay.”

Jane shook her head, a silent tear running down her cheek. “You have to. I can’t stay. But… you’re right. I’m yours. There’ll come a time when we won’t have to be apart.”

The now-familiar tingle started tickling in her belly and Jane had only a second to press a kiss to his lips before she was falling backward into the darkness once again.


	6. Time After Time: Sixth Jump

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane finally meets the monster that the Winter Soldier can be.

Stumbling out of the dark vortex, Jane was grateful for the brick wall to lean upon. It was much warmer here and she undid the buttons on the black jacket as she took a deep breath, wondering where and when she was now. It wasn’t her laboratory, it wasn’t into _her Bucky’s_ arms. He’d been there in their fevered lovemaking, she was certain of that, but that was then and this was now.

Her body ached and every step was a little sore, but Jane felt she had found a significant piece of the puzzle that was Bucky’s mind. They electrocuted his brain within minutes after pulling him out of cryostasis. They didn't even try the brainwashing triggers until after they had jolted his brain into submission. The human body, by default, acted to protect itself. Once the conscious mind was disengaged, the subconscious would do anything to protect the body. On a scientific level, it was remarkable that they still needed to do that, after decades of agonizing pain and conditioning, he continued to fight them.

The monster inside him wasn’t a product of some kind of hidden innate evil, it was a product of his brain trying to protect itself from being electrocuted. 

Her stomach growled rather loudly and Jane checked the front pocket of her jeans, pulling out three very wrinkled hundred dollar bills - her absent-minded professor emergency stash that Darcy had instilled in her. Whether or not she could use them depended upon a great many things. Namely, where and when the hell was she?

Going to the end of the alley, Jane was thrilled to see English signs. A quick glance around revealed she was in New York, somewhere away from the center judging from the distance she could see to the taller building. The air was cold, but not bitterly. She found a newspaper stand. December 1991. _Closer, babe, I'm getting closer._

She got food from a McDonald's, bought a change of clothes, and found a clean motel to eat her food and take a shower in, all the while hyper aware that she was somehow close to him. NY was a lot of ground to cover, but every other jump had put her within a mile of Bucky. Jane doubted that this time would be different. 

Fed and clean, Jane felt like a human again, only the soreness between her legs was a constant reminder of the previous jump. A reminder that he’d tracked her on scent alone, but he hadn’t shown up in her motel room so Jane dumped her old clothes in a dumpster, keeping only his Army jacket. She knew she should get rid of it, but Jane couldn’t bare to part with it. There was no way to know how long it would take for her to get home.

_Let’s get this over with,_ she sighed silently. _Where is he?_

_The champion is to the North._

_You’ve been calling him ‘the’ champion, but before, you always called him ‘my’ champion. Why the change?_

_The champion is on the path to you, but his mind is not his own._

Stepping out onto the sidewalk, Jane looked in both directions before turning to the North. She began walking. _I know. So it was simply contextual._

_The champion is on the path to you, but his mind is not his own._

_You just said that._

A loud car drove by and Jane glanced in its direction, walking straight into the Winter Soldier, stumbling back one step as she looked up in surprise at the same time the back of his hand slammed with her jaw, knocking her back like a doll several feet across the sidewalk. She heard the click of a pistol and scrambled for the alleyway, wanting to get away from innocents on the street, and Jane heard a shot ring out behind her as she ran to the next street over, her heart pounding as she stumbled around a corner. She knew now why the Aether said 'the' and not 'her'. This was the Other him.

The area was nothing but old warehouses and Jane heard another shot as she fell into an open door. Her jaw was a riot of fire and pain. _What the FUCK!_

_His mind is not his own. Visual cognition activated other voices._

_You let him hit me!_

_Biological impact is necessary to complete the loop._

_You could have warned me._

_The champion approaches._

Another shot rang out and this time, it bounced cleanly away from her in mid air. A thin fog of red surrounded her and Jane felt momentary lightheaded from the Aether drawing on her energy. Jane flinched, putting her arms up instinctively as another shot rang out, then another, and another, the dented, mutilated bullets raining down to the concrete in front of her. _They found out about me._

_Your physical appearance is his only focus, host._

There was a clatter and Jane lowered her arms, seeing that he’d thrown the pistol aside and was advancing on her, his metal hand slamming into the Aether shield, which knocked him back several feet. He made a low sound in his throat and came at her again and again, pounding on the shield without pause.

“James, stop! Fight it!” she implored him, but the sound of her voice only seemed to enrage him further, his blows coming faster, harder even though the Aether yielded not at all. Moving her mouth to speak had sent a showering spark of pain through her mind. Something was cracked or broken, she was sure. 

Just as suddenly, he stopped and took a step back, his gaze narrowing. When he came forward, he set a small disk on the floor near the Aether before retreating to the other side of the room. The blast shook the building, blowing a crater into the concrete in front of her, and scaring Jane badly. Her heart was thundering in her chest as the Winter Soldier approached, his features twisted in rage, and again he hammered at the shield with his metal hand.

_He’s not going to stop, is he?_ The fear Jane felt for herself had dimmed, but watching him, ruthlessly pounding at the shield, his relentless fury, it shook her deeply.

_He will not. There are two realities in which he will. One requires your death, host. There are innumerable realities in which the champion irreparably damages the non-biological appendage and is terminated._

_Terrific. And the other?_

_There are words you must speak._

_You can’t… oh god, no._ The Aether did not respond and Jane knew why. Two realities. Her stomach twisted as she began speaking, her voice faltering, both from her reluctance and the sheer agony of moving her jaw.

“Zhelaniye. Rzhavyy. Semnadtsat. Rassvet,” she stammered, tears slipping from her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. “Pech’. Devyat’. Dobroserdechnyy. Vozvrashcheniye na rodinu.” 

The hammering began to slow and Jane wiped her cheeks, taking shallow breaths before continuing, her jaw howled in pain from each word. “Odin. Gruzovoy vagon.”

His hand froze and slowly, the Winter Soldier stood, staring at her as he replied, his tone flat and lifeless. “Baki gotovy vypolnit'.” _Ready to comply._

Jane fought back the bile rising her throat. She knew how much he hated those words, even after Wanda had blocked the triggers in his brain. The Aether was silent, but the fog was gone and she bit back a sob. He might as well be a statue, only his gaze smoldered with resentment. Rising unsteadily to her feet, Jane closed the distance, lifting a hand to his cheek. “I’m so sorry, babe. They gave me no choice.”

He remained silent, unmoving.

“You… you completed your mission?”

“Mission completed. Witnesses terminated.” 

“You didn’t see me. You... you don't know me. I was never here,” Jane told him, her hand lifting to cover her mouth when he nodded despite the pain, muffling a half-sob. “Return to where you must.”

The Winter Soldier held her gaze for a brief moment, then turned and left. Jane reached out to the wall to steady herself as she wept, falling slowly to her knees and she didn’t feel the tickle when it began. 

The vortex swallowed her.


	7. Time After Time: Seven and a 1/2 Jumps Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jumping into Romania, Jane finds Bucky in hiding and finally, gets home to her Bucky.

Coming out of the darkness, she fell three feet to the ground with a hard landing on her hip and her last encounter fresh in her thoughts, Jane scrambled to her feet, looking around quickly, turning until she was certain he wasn’t within visual range. Her first thought had been agonizing sorrow - she wasn’t back. Her second thought had been to be on alert because she wasn’t back and _he_ could be anywhere. He could be the Other him. The pain in her jaw had eased. 

_Are you healing me?_

_I altered your biological composition when we bonded, host, to extend life._

_You… extended it? By how much?_

_There is no applicable unit of measurement._

Jane stopped thinking at that point. It was just too much after what she’d been through. She’d address it later, after she got back to her home in her own time, because Jane wanted to grow old with Bucky, she wanted to watch their children grow, for their children to get married and have their own children, and she wanted to watch over their family until the day came when they passed into the next adventure. Together. 

It had all seemed so simple before this journey had begun, but now, she was genuinely both uncomfortably frightened of the Winter Soldier, and yet she longed to be in Bucky’s arms again. Twice before the last jump, she had encountered the Winter Soldier and he’d been drawn to her quite physically. But the last jump, they had to have electrocuted his brain again, wiped away even his instinctual draw to her and Jane was shaken from seeing the unadulterated rage and intensity in his gaze when he had been trying so desperately to kill her. Jane knew, she knew in her heart of hearts, it was the programming, and that her Bucky would never, ever, hurt her. But she couldn’t unsee, unknow, just how absolute the programming had been. The Winter Soldier and Bucky were the same man, something Jane had known without fully understanding. She understood now on a level that she had yet to reconcile in her own mind. 

Cautiously, she approached the end of the alley and stepped out into a street market, glancing around quickly. Jane didn’t immediately recognize the language being spoken until she caught a word she knew. Bucky spoke Romanian. While Russian was _their_ secret language, she enjoyed it when he slipped into Romanian. There was just something incredibly sexy with the way his mouth moved in forming the words. She saw a paper sitting on the edge of a market table and stopped by it to read. Bucharest. 2015. 

So close and yet so far, Jane thought morosely as she looked up and it took her a moment to realize who she was looking at. It was Bucky! The Winter Soldier uniform was gone and he was clearly trying to blend in, even with his frame. He was wearing a baseball cap and a loose jacket that only made him look bigger. Bucky rarely spoke of this time in his life, but Jane had known that he’d been put under one more time, by the criminal Zemo, and Steve had brought him out afterward. 

Jane stayed where she was, watching him and it slowly became clear that he wasn’t being controlled. When he turned his head, she could see his expression. The girl at the market table was flirting with him, but he had not responded. They hadn’t met yet at this point in time, and she had no reason to feel a moment of jealousy, because yeah, he still wasn’t taking her up on her blatant invitation, but that didn’t stop the stab of anger that she was flirting with Bucky. 

He took the bag from the girl and began walking, Jane followed on the opposite side of the street a few steps behind, attempting to be as nonchalant as possible. Bucky turned a corner and Jane hurried across the street to duck into the same alley, not expecting him to be there waiting for her. He pressed her to the brick wall with a firm hand. 

“Why are you following me?” he demanded gruffly, his gaze darting anxiously to the alley opening and then back to her.

Reaching up, Jane pressed her hand to the back of his where he held her arm, skin on skin, and she licked her lips. This close, her heart was thundering in her chest and the words fell from her lips before she could stop herself. “Because you’re mine and I have to get back to you,” she whispered. “And this is the only way.”

Bucky blinked in surprise and nostrils flaring as he looked down to where her hand touched his, confusion and a spark of fear glinting in his blue eyes. It made her heart clench. 

“I would never hurt you, James,” Jane told him, wondering just how much of his memories he had at this point in time. Did he remember her? From the forest? From the cabin? Her cheeks flushed at the thought of the cabin. 

He looked down and away from her, and Jane thought he was confused, but after a long moment , he said. “No one calls me that.”

“I do, but I’ll stop if you want me to. Would you prefer Bucky?” she offered softly, 

“No. Maybe, I don’t… you’re… you’re not HYDRA. What did you mean? Get back to… me?”

Jane sighed, licking her lips again. There was so much she couldn’t tell him. As much as it was breaking her heart to see his confusion now, Jane would do nothing to risk their future. “I’m not HYDRA, no,” she told him. “I can’t explain the rest. I want to, but I can’t. You wouldn’t believe me and it would change… things.”

“It’s not safe to be around me,” he declared suddenly, the confusion flickering in his eyes and she could see that his anxiety was rising with the level of confusion he felt. He took a step back, releasing her arm, his hand sliding from under hers, but instead of pulling away, it turned against hers, palm to palm, fingers curling around her smaller hand for a long moment before he pulled his hand away. He looked down at his hand and then back to Jane, a frown playing on his forehead. 

She let her own hand drop and Jane remained pressed to the brick wall, watching him. This Bucky was the closest to the Bucky she’d met in Wakanda. He was the closest to _hers_. Jane knew she had to let him walk away now. There was nothing she could do to help him through the next phase of his life. She could not warn him that he would be used once more. She couldn’t stop that from happening. He would meet her for his first time in Wakanda. 

Paradoxical Causality Loop.

“You won’t understand now, but… there’s going to come a day when you think I’m gone forever. I’m not. I’m coming back. I’m doing that now - coming back,” Jane told him evasively, trying to convey a message into the future. She had no idea what ratio of time was passing back in her laboratory, she had no way of knowing how long had passed since she’d disappeared into the portal, what must her Bucky be going through? 

“There’s something… familiar,” he said slowly, frowning. There was a look in his eye, something Jane recognized, when he was working something out and for a brief moment, she prayed he wasn’t thinking of the cabin or worse, the last jump. 

Pushing away from the wall, she took a step back away from him, licking her lips. “That’s... not important. Just remember. I’m coming back,” Jane told him firmly, before turning and fleeing. She stumbled out of the alley and turned left on the sidewalk, slowing her step, but not daring to look back. He was so… _hers_ it hurt her heart, but he wasn’t and she couldn’t let herself be caught up in that. 

The tug came suddenly and without a tickle of warning, pulling her roughly back into a blood red bubble of a whirling vortex unlike anything she’d experienced before and Jane instinctively struggled against it, swimming through the viscous sludge, her breath held and a frightening pain stabbed in her lungs. She hadn’t had a chance to take a breath and her head was pounding with the need for oxygen, the seconds ticking on and on, without any sense of movement and Jane was beginning to panic, her body struggling to survive on autopilot. She gasped and the liquid flowed into her lungs, into her body and she lost consciousness as her hands clawed one last time forward. 

In her laboratory, the Gate began humming and spinning suddenly. Bucky sat against the metal pole where he’d lost Jane, his pistol at his side and it was clear that he’d been there for some time. His head lifted as the Gate made a groaning screech and Jane’s body was flung from the portal, landing with a solid thud. Bucky scrambled forward, turning her over and beginning CPR right away, ignoring the Gate for the moment, alternating chest compressions and blowing air into her lungs. He heard a low gurgle and turned her head to the side, straddling her hips as he cursed thickly when she coughed and took a ragged breath.

“Jane,” Bucky whispered, gathering her up, his hand cupping the back of her head as he grabbed for his pistol, putting one shot into the generator that powered the Gate and the giant portal creaked and fell silent. 

Her lungs burned as she drew breath, sucking in air, and slowly becoming aware. Aware of strong arms holding her and a ragged sound she’d never heard before. Reaching up, she pushed his hair back and trailed her fingers down to the wetness on his cheeks. “James,” she whispered, relief flooding through her body. She was home. _Home_. “Babe, it’s okay, I’m here, I’m back.”

“I wanted to die when you went through the Gate,” he murmured thickly against her hair, his hold on her tightening even more as if he were afraid she wasn’t real. “But I… remembered. What you told me.”

Her message had made it. She had made it. “How long?”

“Three days. Forever,” Bucky answered. “I… I started to remember. You were there. For me. New York. Germany. Russia. Romania. I don’t know how, but…”

“Paradoxical Causality Loop. Somehow, the lightening, it affected the portal,” she told him, stroking his hair. 

He drew back, a determined blue gaze meeting hers. “No more Gate. Your damned interns can test it,” he told her firmly. There was a glint there, a glint she now recognized, and after a moment she nodded in agreement. “Be my wife, my real wife. Marry me.”

“Yes. A hundred times, yes,” Jane managed before his lips crushed hers in a dizzying kiss.


End file.
